The Library Marketing and Communications Conference is designed for library employees of any level who are involved in marketing, communication, public relations, social media, and outreach in academic, public, and special libraries. Sessions explore issues that are important for this niche of library work, and the conference includes time for attendees to network and to discuss mutual challenges.

Honestly? Anymore, that means ALL OF US. It’s never a bad time to improve your communication, marketing, and PR skills.

She gave a talk about Deep Understanding. Not sure I can explain that well, though it was interesting. But I loved some of her major points, like her take on active listening (which helps to get to deep understanding):

Act like a tour guide. You don’t ask about the thing the tour guide didn’t bring up. You ask questions about the stuff she does bring up.

Break through the surface to get to the depth (reasoning, reactions, guiding principles, etc).

Find out why. Toddlers are not embarrassed about what they don’t know.

We don’t bring our thoughts to the session. We dive into the depths of the other person’s thoughts.

Start with scope. What went through your mind as you <tried to accomplish your purpose>?

Ground it. Use and event that happened. I.e., what about the last time, the first time, a memorable time…

No list of questions needed. Just follow the last set of details.

Avoid judgements and contempt. Her pain is real, even if you don’t agree.

Rapport – DO support the participant emotionally.

No notes, no analysis, no problem-solving.

Attempt to banish assumptions.

I know – hard to do, right?

Gary Price – Super Searcher apps, Sites, & Tools.

Gary often gives a talk about new search tools and interesting apps. Here are some of the things he mentioned this time:

Zoho – they host one-off web pages for free. Example – the page mentioned above with all the tools listed.

Webrecorder – create high-fidelity, interactive recordings of any web site you browse – sorta like a DVR recording of what you can browse. You can also take screenshots. Free tool.

Audiosear.ch – full text search and recommendation API for podcasts and radio. You can even set up alerts on words and phrases that appear in a podcast. Cool.

C-SPAN – their search tool.a lot of author interviews. Every word spoken is keyword-searchable. Uses CC for the search.

Notablist – searches email campaigns!

PhotoMath – solves math problems via the camera. And does it really well. It even “shows the work!” This would have been handy in algebra class…

and quite a few other tools and apps. Check his list out!

Brendan Howley – Day 2 keynote speaker.

He talked about story telling. It was an interesting talk, especially since I’ve been thinking about video again in a big way.

He mentioned this idea – ask the funniest local person to make a short video about the library. It’s bound to a a fun one!

He also emphasized this – keep making and publishing content! He said “Good content now is better than perfect content on Friday.”

He also had a valid point about mobile users on your website. You need to check your website analytics to see what your bounce rate is for mobile users. Your goal is a bounce rate of under 30%. Most libraries have a 70% bounce rate, which means that they are using the mobile app or website once and not coming back.

I got a lot more than this out of the conference – this is just what I captured. Hope to see YOU there next year!

Have you ever helped organize a conference? There are quite a few jobs that need to get done, including handing out badges, creating the program, promoting the event, speaking … and moderating conference sessions.

I’ve been asked to moderate sessions at a number of conferences over the last couple of years. It’s fun, and sometimes a bit challenging! If you’ve never done it before, or wondered what’s needed to be a moderator … don’t worry – I’ve got you covered!

Here are some tips on moderating at conferences and events:

Email speakers in advance.Ask your speakers to double-check their bios or supply one. Tell them to email you with questions if they have any.

Get there early. You’ll want to make sure the room is ready, the mics are on, and the projector is working.

Set the mood for the day. At the start of the first session, tell attendees what’s going on in your room for the day, especially if you are moderating a whole track of sessions based on a theme (i.e., a web developer’s track). That helps people know what to expect for the day. There might also be some last minute changes that you need to share.

Introduce yourself to the sound dude. Most event centers and hotels have staff who set up and run the audio for each session. Sometimes they hang out in the room the whole time; more often than not, they are busily running to each room, making sure everyone’s ok. That person can make or break theÂ event. So introduce yourself asÂ the moderator and find out how to contact them if you need anything.

Test the equipment. Make sure the speaker is comfortable with the tech they are using. If they are switching between slides and a video, make sure they practice that. Test the audio levels of the video. Remind people how to advance slides. Yes, that sounds silly … but when an inexperienced speaker is standing in front of 200 people, they can get flustered pretty easily and forget those simple things.

Paraphrase the bio. Especially if it’s long. No one really wants to hear you read 600 words about the speaker. Give just enough to introduce the speaker, then get to the talk.

Time the sessions. At a busy conference with lots of sessions, you have to keep a tight schedule. I set two alarms on my iPhone – one goes off when there’s 5 minutes left, and one when time’s up.

Multiple speakers need equal time. If there are two or more speakers during a session, make sure to give them equal amounts of time to speak. tell each presenter how much time they have, and then stick to it. It’s never fun to have your 15-minute presentation turned into a rushed 6-minute mess (been there, done that).

If it’s a panel discussion, include everyone. When moderating a panel, make sure everyone on the panel has a chance to speak. If someone’s not talking, it’s your job to draw them into the conversation. On the other hand, if someone is talking too much, it’s your job to give other panelists a chance to speak. An easy way to do that is to say something like “Thanks for that idea. What do the other panelists think?” And turn to someone else to give them a chance to speak.

Repeat the question. During the Q & A time at the end, make sure to either repeat the question that was asked, or have the speaker do it. If the room is large, some people won’t hear the question, and sometimes the session is being recorded. It also helps make sure you get the question right.

Move people along. This goes with timing the sessions. You might need to cut off a long-winded speaker, or end the Q & A, to move people along to the next session. Sometime during the Q & A, I usually walk to to the podium and stand by the speaker. I’ll help find people with questions. When it’s about time to end the session, I’ll say something like “we have time for one more question.” After that question is answered, I’ll make sure to thank the speaker, and tell people what’s coming next (i.e., lunch break, next session in 15 minutes, etc).

If you have never done any moderating … what are you waiting for? Try it out and see if you like it!